A Pilot Study of TMS Effects on Pain and Depression in Patients With Fibromyalgia

Active TMS uses the active TMS coil to stimulate the cortical area of interest. Active TMS involves 80 trains x 15 sec = 4000 pulses per session, 5 x per week= 20,000 pulses per week, x 2 weeks = 40,000 pulses.

Sham TMS uses the same stimulation frequency as the Active TMS but uses the Sham TMS coil instead to prevent actual stimulation from occurring (chosen as a priori stimulation based on studies showing antidepressant and anti-nociceptive effects): 10 Hertz - Pulse train duration (on time) 5 seconds, Power (intensity) level 120% of stored motor threshold, Inter-train interval (off time) 10 seconds (15 second cycle time). Additionally, stimulation-train duration and inter-stimulus intervals were determined such that they are in compliance with current published rTMS safety guidelines.